Nym (Balloons)
by garthol
Summary: A stallion gets a lot more than he bargains for when he meets back with an old friend and stays true to himself. The finalizing sequel to Unpredictable (Balloons).
1. Prologue

It was a peaceful day inside the dull hometown of Nym, a quite unique pegasus pony. He lived very far away from the main settlements of Equestria such as Canterlot inside a land named Effora.

His appearance was quite different from most other ponies. His body was a light gray while his mane and tail were a deep black. His wings were almost large enough that you would think them awkward and hard to control, but he was able to use them gracefully. Most people that looked upon him would think him mean. One thing that contributed to this was the fact that his mane and tail were styled in such a way that they were incredibly pointy and threatening-looking, when really, it was just hair and they shouldn't have judged him for that.

His cutie mark was simply a lightning bolt coming from a dark cloud, and it didn't make much sense to him. He couldn't get any profit out of it. The only thing it seemed to allude was the fact that he was fast, and he was! But competing was against the question, he barely had the money to enter.

He didn't really have any friends; the "friends" he did have were distasteful, and quite frankly he hated them. He did have one friend a long while ago when he went to Canterlot as sort of an "exchange intern" at the Canterlot Royal Library. It wasn't really near what he wanted to work for his life, but he was 19 at the time that he went. He took any opportunity he got. Who he met was a colt named Swiftpen. He was more unique than Nym himself. He was socially inept, insecure, and most of all- incredibly specific. He constantly was forced by Swiftpen to correct his near-perfect dialect of the common language in the mainland of Equestria. He had high hopes for the colt despite his tendency to doubt. They had a quite large age difference of around 8 years, but they didn't mind.

They were outcasts. They took what friends they got, and they were the best of friends. They fought, of course, as they were both argumentative and touchy ponies, but they meshed well. Even with Swiftpen's amazing comprehension of Princess Twilight Sparkle's New Study on Advanced Magical Techniques, they were even able to have many flight-based races. Swiftpen thought out some very complicated plans involving time travel spells, writing many books, and occasionally him becoming Twilight's trustworthy assistant. Nym helped him with the simple logistics of the plan, and encouraged him on with them despite the fact that he barely understood some of it.

Nym missed the crazy unicorn. Until one day, 3 years after he left Canterlot, he received a letter from his very friend. Nym observed that it was written on very fancy Princess-quality paper. He read with eagerness.

_Dear friend, Nym,_

_ Greetings! Much, much greetings. It's been a long time. Remember that one crazy plan where I time traveled back in time 10 years? Well, it totally worked, and now I'm the 26-year old assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. I'm also rich as funk and can pretty much do whatever I want. Well, the reason I wrote this letter, is that I figured that with my fame and fortune I could, y'know, ship you over to Ponyville with me, get you a nice paying job. How does that sound? I know it's a little out of the blue but I planned this perfectly, trust me! I also want you to meet the mare I've been dating for the past 6 years. She's great… sorry, got distracted. You know me. Anyway, respond whenever. Actually, use this extra enclosed paper I sent with this. It'll send it instantly. I'll send you more with my 2nd letter, it's very handy._

_Your past (and hopefully present!) best friend,_

_Swiftpen "CJ" Escrib_

It simply sounded too good to be true, but he knew that Swiftpen wasn't one for lying. He got to writing immediately. Which was difficult, as the apparent-author stallion managed to completely forget that he was a pegasus pony and couldn't write very well. He just couldn't wait to get someone else to do it for him, though. He used his terrible mouthscrawl to write this note-

_Dear Swiftpen,_

_ It really is great to hear from you again, after all this time. Why would I ever doubt your plan? Sure, it sounded a bit far-fetched, but this is you we're talking about. Far fetched doesn't mean impossible. I'd honestly like to hear what jobs you could give me, because I can't get much work here, and living in Ponyville would be expensive, especially for me, since I live so far away. It's very odd to hear that you're older than me, and that is the strangest part of your letter. I'm also very glad and unsurprised that you got a marefriend. I always knew you had it in you. I'd surely love to meet her. And six years is quite a long time to be dating! You could get a little more… serious about your relationship. If you know what I mean. After we work out all the details I'm sure we can catch up in person._

_ Your best friend (forever and always),_

_ Nym_

His old friend wasn't lying, as soon as he sealed the envelope it disappeared into a poof of magic. He waited eagerly for around 5 minutes when another envelope appeared in the same place where he sent his. Swiftpen wasn't messing around.

_I would understand your doubt of my wacky plans better if you actually had any. You can be so optimistic sometimes, you know? And the jobs I can give you are… anything. I can practically give you any job anywhere. I could even give you a spot on the Wonderbolts if you really so desired (and had the skill, of course, though with your talent I don't doubt it). This whole chatting with letters is getting a bit strange as you could probably leave anytime to come here. Say whatever goodbyes you have and gather your things. Don't expect to come back soon. Of course, you can totally decline my offer. Though I doubt you'd pass up on a chance to meet up with me again. Included is a map of Equestria, complete with labeled path from Effora to Ponyville, and a close up map of the town with the Golden Oak Library (the Princess's home and my workplace). See you soon!_

_- Swiftpen_

He had barely any things besides a bag and a couple of books. He really couldn't say goodbye to anyone, he had long since left his family to live on his own. He left without many regrets. He didn't think he would miss the obscure and tiny place.


	2. Chapter 1

New Places, New Faces

Swiftpen eagerly awaited his friend's arrival. He had already told all of his friends all about the gray pegasus, and they also seemed interested to meet him. Rainbow Dash was quite suspicious of another incredibly fast pegasus. She couldn't tell whether she was worried of being beaten or anticipating the wonderful competition. Pinkie Pie knew of Swiftpen's relationship with him and secretly desired his "approval". She figured that just by being herself she would hopefully be able to befriend him. It almost always worked.

Twilight Sparkle was more interested in his hometown. It was so very far away that she felt that it was incredibly odd that she knew around nothing about it. Besides, she was a princess. It was her duty to know all about the land and its inhabitants. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack didn't think much. From Swiftpen's lengthy descriptions it seemed like they would all get along fine, and they didn't mind getting a new friend and resident of Ponyville.

After around 5 minutes, Swiftpen had a smug smile on his face.

"Here he comes." There was absolutely no evidence that the other ponies could see or hear that Nym was arriving at the library. Suddenly, he appeared. His flight was without much appearance, but it was incredibly fast. He landed in front of Swiftpen.

"Uh.. hey." The unicorn hugged the pegasus in a way only two best friends could hug. Nym was startled. He, at first, didn't recognize his friend. Since the last time he'd seen him, he'd aged 13 years. Which was odd, because it had been 3 years since he left Canterlot. His plan had obviously worked. He never doubted him for a minute. The mares with him almost seemed harem-like. They were all very attractive, and he never expected Swiftpen to be with such a crowd. Then again, he reminded himself, the brown stallion was a famous author now.

He observed them all and wanted to guess who was Swiftpen's sweetheart, but without any former knowledge, he didn't even try. They all looked at him expectantly.

"Umh.. hello all, I'm Nym." he spoke in his odd accent. They all introduced themselves, one at a time. The blue pegasus first.

"Hey, I'm Rainbow Dash. The fastest flyer in Equestria. I'd like to beat you someday in a race. Just sayin'." She was incredibly sure of herself. He took competition seriously.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't be so certain. My specialty is speed!" He stretched out to display his cutie mark. She got a very determined look on her face.

"We'll see." She simply said. Next, a curly-maned pink mare.

"Hi Nym! I'm Pinkie Pie! Swifty and I will just HAVE to throw a party for you later! I'll start now!" She hopped away in a certainly unique style. Swiftpen walked over and sheepishly grinned.

"Yeah, Pinkie's the greatest… she's my marefriend, if you haven't guessed. I better go help with the party preparations." He walked away with a crazy grin Nym had never seen before on a stallion. He was clearly lost to love. He didn't know what to think of Pinkie. She was certainly… different. They seemed like an adorable couple, though. Next, the orange earth pony.

"Howdy, Nym. We've heard quite a lot about you. May'b you could give ol' Rainbow over there a run for 'er money. I'd love to see 'er beat in a race for once." She seemed quite friendly and honestly quite interested in seeing someone best the blue pegasus. Next, the Princess herself.

"Nice to meet you, Nym! I'd like to hear all about Effora. Being the Princess, that's kind of my job." She didn't seem like the most regal of ponies, but she was unquestionably an intelligent alicorn. Nym was surprised that she didn't know about Effora. There wasn't much to know. Finally, for it didn't seem like the yellow pegasus was going to speak any time soon, the white unicorn. At first, she didn't say anything. She just walked around Nym making odd faces and gestures. He decided to break the silence.

"Um.. good to meet you, too?" She looked up from her observation, almost in a daze.

"Yes, hello, and all that. I'm Rarity. You really need to do something with your mane. It's too… harsh. And a bit too messy for my liking. I mean, Pinkie and Swiftpen have uncontrollable hair, but this! This I can fix. And your tail.. it could be a bit tidier, you know? …" She started to ramble on a bit.

"Um, excuse me? I like my mane, thank you." He stated. She seemed quite startled.

"Well, I suppose that's alright, but I was just saying that you could put so much more effort into it. Rainbow has the same problem, she insists on that strange manestyle, I never quite understood it." Nym looked at the mare oddly.

"Yeah, well, I don't do fashion." All introductions were done, besides the 3rd pegasus, who he assumed would never speak a word. After a few minutes of idle chat, Swiftpen appeared out of nowhere, covered in random dough and icing.

"Alright, Nym! Let's go back to my house. I live in the Everfree Forest, very close to here."

On their way back, Swiftpen showed himself to still be the incredibly knowledgeable unicorn he was 3 years ago. Which was odd, because that was technically 13 years ago for him.

"The Everfree is a nice and peaceful forest. The only reason why it's so uninhabited is because of the various creatures that live inside it. Most of them are only violent when provoked, and are quite honestly very nice. But hey, Zecora and I got over our fear."

"Zecora?" Nym had never heard such an odd name before.

"Yes, she's a zebra that lives deeper in the forest. She's incredibly friendly, you two should chat sometime. Anyway, we should discuss your new job. I thought of the perfect thing." He was quite energetic and enthusiastic. He was still covered in dough and pink icing.

"Wait. First, before that, we should catch up, right? How'd this all go down? I mean, I totally remember your plan and all. Totally. Yeah." Swiftpen smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Right, forgot about that. I'll start from the day I applied for a job…"

He explained everything significant that happened during the 6 years he spent in Ponyville as the Princess's assistant. He spoke passionately about Pinkie and all of their crazy escapades together. Sometimes he drifted off and stared into the distance, fantasizing about the mare with a dreamy look on his face. After the fourth time, Nym spoke up.

"Bro, you need to do something. It's been _6 years. _Aren't there some things you should be doing after all that time together?" Swiftpen got a sneaky smirk on his face.

"Well, I _am _making up plans to… you know.." Nym raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Propose! Honestly, I understand it's been quite a while. There's no reason not to tie the knot here and now. I mean we already know that we're absolute soulmates." Nym was shocked.

"Honestly, Swiftpen! Are you really that innocent?! You know what I meant!" Swiftpen finally understood him.

"Oh, Nym. You sly stallion. Hehe, yeah, don't think that we've held back for all this time. Quite frankly I don't think that would be possible." Nym was fairly surprised. He didn't expect the unicorn to jump into that kind of thing, though he assumed that their love was powerful enough that doing that wouldn't be very odd.

Though he didn't think that he was a very trustworthy source, having never had a mare to call his own.

"Anyway, we should probably go to Sugarcube Corner soon. I'd love to hear all that happened to you in the past 3 years, later. Seeya there!" He galloped quickly away. He wondered why he ran. It took him a bit of time to remember where the store was, otherwise he was sure he could've beaten Swiftpen there easily. He arrived to complete darkness… and suddenly, the lights turned on. Everypony there (and almost _everypony _was there) yelled surprise, and instantly revealed the enormous party.

It was obviously made with intensive detail. The food was beautiful, along with all of the decor, though that all didn't really matter- what did matter was the music and the dancing. Many of the ponies simply stood at the sides of the dance floor watching the couple of Pinkie Pie and Swiftpen Escrib dance in perfect synchronization together. They were having so much fun together without even trying. They did whatever they wanted without caring about judgement. All they needed was each other and music. Everything else could just disappear and they wouldn't care. He ate some pastries and drank some punch, then watched the couple for around an hour. It wasn't hard to get lost in their movements and controlled chaos. He broke out of the daze to find that he had a shocking headache. Swiftpen, who was taking a break at the time, trotted over to Nym after noticing his pain.

"Hey, man, just go back to my house if you need to rest. No one's forcing you to stay. And grab a danish while you're at it, we made them today!" He motioned over to some flaky pastries covered in pink icing. He then added-

"Oh, actually, can you grab 2 for me? I have a feeling they'll all be gone real soon here. Thanks. Ooh, Pinkie's calling me. Catch ya later, alligator!" He skipped away with an ecstatic look upon his face. _Yep, _he thought, _he's long gone. _

He grabbed 3 danishes from the table, wrapped them up sloppily inside a napkin, and proceeded to stumble out the door. He flew as fast he could to Swiftpen's house, and practically passed out on the neatly prepared couch. He felt like he could sleep forever…


	3. Chapter 2

He woke up late. He didn't know the time, he still had a bit of flight lag. That was probably the reason for his exhaustion the last night, but he had ignored that at the time. Swiftpen was nowhere in sight. Nym noticed that he had dropped the danishes on the ground right before he fell asleep. He picked them up with his mouth and placed them on a nearby table, on top of some clutter. He realized that the home was actually quite messy and was surprised at the unicorn for keeping it like this. He searched around for food and eventually found some neat storage behind the house. Nym doubted that Swiftpen would care if he took any.

After around a half an hour, he heard soft trotting near the house. The door opened to reveal the brown stallion, his mane unkempt and covered in various… he couldn't tell. He had a wild grin on his face.

"Good afternoon, Nym. I figured you'd be up around now. I slept at Pinkie's, as I have been for a while. Friend, that party was wild." He kept his grin as he sat down beside Nym. He raised an eyebrow and snuck a smirk.

"Did you two… do anything?" Swiftpen blushed slightly, but kept his enormous smile. He answered slyly after some thought.

"We don't get much sleep, if you couldn't tell." Nym started laughing heartily as he understood what he said. He slapped Swiftpen on the back as he finished laughing.

"That's a good one, bro. I bet it was great." Suddenly the brown stallion gained an evil smile.

"Now we have to work on getting you a mare." The gray pegasus looked at him, shocked.

"Um.. no. I can do it myself, thank you." Swiftpen's smile grew.

"I'm going to do it anyway, you know. Anyway, we should talk about your job and my perfect plan." Nym looked thoughtful for a second.

"I couldn't possibly guess what you have in mind. Just tell me, what is it?" He had to be blunt with Swiftpen. He always tried to make ponies guess what he was thinking.

"How about… you RACE! I can set you up with a few smaller gigs in some small towns, but then I'm sure I can sponsor you to become one of the most famous pegasus ponies in Equestria! I mean, seriously. Your talent is _speed_, for Celestia's sake." He was taken aback. He had honestly considered becoming a Wonderbolt, despite his lack of desire for the best appearance. Nym thought about his friend's "foalproof" plan for a while. He figured he'd try it out, why not.

"Sure. Not like I could get money any other way, besides mooching off of you, and you KNOW how I couldn't accept bits from you." Swiftpen was glad that he decided to overlook his stubborn and independent nature to accept a job from him. He would set up the first race as a week from that day, which was a Monday. He then remembered something important.

"OH! Right. Rainbow told me to tell you that she already planned your race for this Wednesday. You should probably train a bit, get your wings back in tip-top shape." Nym needed a second.

"Rainbow was the… blue pegasus, right?" Swiftpen nodded.

"Good luck with that, anyway. RD doesn't joke about being the fastest in Equestria. You guys might be… equal, or you're a bit slower than her. That's my call. No offense, she's just the best around." Nym understood, but he seriously wanted to prove his speed to the other ponies. He had skill. He would always try and make that obvious.

Those two days before the race between the two pegasus ponies were very boring for Nym. Whenever Swiftpen wasn't with Pinkie doing whatever he was talking with Nym about everything and anything. He even went into some of the crazy adventures that the 6 mares had gotten into in the past, despite the fact that the unicorn had not attended any himself. Honestly Swiftpen spent a lot of time with Nym. The gray stallion assumed that this was from him spending almost the last 6 years with mostly mares, and he needed some "bro time", as he would probably call it. One male can only withstand extreme fashion and celebrity gossip for a certain amount of time (though Swiftpen personally enjoyed hearing gossip himself).

On Wednesday, around 2 hours before the race, Swiftpen was helping Nym train a bit.

"You nervous?" Nym rolled his eyes.  
"Of COURSE I'm not, Swiftpen. Why would I be nervous?" They both sincerely couldn't tell if Nym was being sarcastic or not. After the pegasus was all stretched out and prepped, he went to the preset track around 30 minutes early. He heard a voice from above him.

"So, finally decided to show up, eh?" He quickly flew up to find Rainbow Dash lounging on a cloud. She didn't even bother to look at him.

"We still don't know whether you're the fastest or not. You never know, things happen." She opened her eyes and laughed.

"Hah, I doubt anything that extreme could happen to make me slower. Because I _am _the fastest. Don't ever think otherwise." Swiftpen suddenly appeared next to them. Rainbow saw him and fell off her cloud, quickly extending her wings to save herself.

"Huh?! Swiftpen, how're you up here?" The pegasus looked confused for a second, then suddenly remembered.

"OH! I never did tell you, anyway. One of those spells that Twilight made 4 years ago is able to give functional wings to earth or pegasus ponies. It's really useful, Pinkie and I use it all the time. Only works for 5 hours at a time, though. Nym, you remember this, don't you?" He nodded, not really surprised to see faux-alicorn Swiftpen. Suddenly Rainbow Dash looked odd. She suddenly muttered-

"Pinkie.. with WINGS? That sounds… terrifying….. ANYWAY, race is on in 20 minutes. Prepare to be vanquished!" She returned to her cloud and laid back down. Swiftpen looked at Nym to find him a little.. transfixed. Wait, he'd seen that look before… On Pinkie, all those 6-odd years ago. He sighed.

"Nym, I swear if you just did what I think you did…" Swiftpen gave the pegasus a stern stare. The unicorn literally shook him out of it.

"Er… Rainbow's.. pretty cool, isn't she?"

Swiftpen put his hoof to his forehead.


	4. Chapter 3

Swiftpen couldn't help but not be surprised. He sighed again.

"We'll work it out later. I'm sure I can do some of my romantic-magic on you two to have you fall in love in no time. Though I think you're already too far in the trenches of love… ANYWAY. Good luck during the race. Don't get distracted. I'll be in the audience with Pinkie." He flew away to the crowd (there had amassed a large crowd, everypony loved watching a Rainbow race) where Pinkie was smiling even bigger than she had been when he met her. Nym chuckled to himself as he remembered the reason. Then he got focused. He was going to compete against the single coolest, most attractive mare he had ever seen. He hoped he could forget about his competitor to perhaps win or tie the race. He started to doubt himself. Types like him always did.

He then remembered that this was going to be a bit of a first impression for the ponies of Ponyville. Mostly all of them, there was quite a few. Showing off was kind of a necessity in situations like this. They all knew Rainbow Dash, now they needed to meet Nym.

It was time. He was prepped completely. He forgot the fact that there were other ponies existing in the world. He even tried to forget Rainbow. It apparently worked, because distraction was not an issue. The race appeared to be a simple obstacle course, though it was fairly large, and because it was air-based, not very simple. He had a chance to look at it beforehand. It was certainly.. unique. They were both at the start line. Right below them was the finish line, it looped around perfectly.

Suddenly, they were off. It was time to show his stuff.

He didn't think about anything. Just speed. Dodging, occasionally. He was in his mode. Almost a bestial rage overcame him. It was surely a sight to see, if the onlooking ponies could see him at all. The only things they saw were Rainbow's rainbow and his trail, which looked black on the top and yellow on the bottom. Which made sense, because of his cutie mark. Lightning speed.

Eventually, he finished. He looked at his side to see that Rainbow Dash had finished at the same time. It was an absolute dead tie, they even had photos to prove it, for Twilight had prepared a magical camera to go off instantly when someone finished. The crowd was cheering like wild. Rainbow looked confused.

Nym grinned as he realized that he was just as fast as the mare. This was an interesting day for him.

Around an hour later, when everything was calmed down, the announcement was made. Perfect tie. Nym was glad as he realized that the blue pegasus pony wasn't mad or anything. She walked over to him, and his heart leaped.

"Hey, that's pretty impressive. I've never seen a stallion that could keep up with me. I know I'm faster than you, though. This was just a fluke!" Swiftpen noticed that she looked happy that she had found an equal. Sure, she had found a couple in the past, but this was a bit out of the blue.

Nym didn't notice. He was too busy being one of the happiest pegasus stallions in Equestria. Rainbow Dash had _complimented him._ HIM, the random pony from a nameless town far away from Canterlot or Ponyville. He blushed for around an hour, and longer still when he rethought the way she said it. Naturally, he assumed a lot of things about it that were very far-fetched, but ponies tended to do strange things when they fell in love. He would try and befriend that mare so much, if he could get past his social ineptitude and awkwardness. Especially around that radical mare.

Swiftpen thought about his next course of action. He was actually sort of surprised that Nym grew fond of the speedy pegasus mare. He didn't know what he expected, actually. It was odd to see his friend after such a long time. See how much he's changed and grown. Even though technically he was the elder now, it was hard to not feel paradoxically nostalgic. Now that he was in the perfect relationship he felt it was time to help the gray pegasus get his own. Perhaps it would be with Rainbow Dash, if she felt the same. He considered asking her how she felt.

He instantly dismissed the thought. Blunt romance is the least interesting, and generally always ends badly. On the other hand, hesitate too long, things will go wrong. He needed some scheme. Some plan. He decided to ask Nym about it.

He was returned to reality. He was eating dinner with Nym at his house. How convenient.

"Hey, Nym, got any ideas for an RD plan? I know she's basically all you've been thinking about." He looked startled and frankly a little embarrassed.

"What plan? I wasn't even thinking about her..." A dreamy stare returned to his face. Swiftpen couldn't resist rolling his eyes, even though he enjoyed romance a lot more than the average pony.

"You're going to need to act on this, you know." He glared seriously at Nym.

"Uhuh." He blankly responded. Swiftpen started to get frustrated.

"Let's. Talk. About. Rainbow. Dash." He said through grinding teeth.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Finally. He got his attention.

"You like her, right?" He had no idea why he asked that.

"Um, yeah, sure, I like her. She's cool." Intense awkward silence.

"You know what I mean. Like-like. I hate using such an elementary term…" He started to blush.

"Erm… not, really.. I mean she's cool, I just, I'm not good enough for her or anything… why get my hopes up?" He wasn't sure whether to pity or understand him. He would've thought the same with Pinkie had he have noticed his feelings before all that wackiness.

"There's no reason to not try, you know. I think I read in a book once that failing is better than not trying at all. Besides, you two are basically perfect for eachother. Super fast, have a lightning bolt on your cutie mark, and you're sort of outcasts, too. Your personalities are very different but they don't clash." His eyes lit up. Hope was never lost when love existed.

"You… really think that?" Okay, he may have pushed his luck.

"Um… yeah, you guys seem like you could be a great couple. Now, we have to think of a plan! Maybe I can think of a prototype real fast… Perhaps.. the moon? No.. those mushrooms in that magical cave? No, not again… We should get some help. Let's go around and ask Twi's friends." He suddenly felt exhausted. Partying took a heavy toll. Eventually. Never made any sense to him, but as if he cared after dating Pinkie Pie for ~6 years. It was handy. Nym spoke suddenly.

"Wait, wait, wait. I don't think I need a plan, honestly. I can do things at my own pace." Swiftpen looked bewildered.

"What… but, you're so awkward and probably very nervous.. You must need at least a little bit of help, right?" Nym shook his head firmly.

"No.. honestly, thanks for the offer, but I can do things on my own. No need to get all complicated with plans on me. I'm just gonna… um, go out for a flight. It's a beautiful night." He left before Swiftpen could get a word out. Naturally, he was going to help anyway. He decided he would head over to Pinkie's to get some support.

As he went to open the door, Pinkie sprang in and grabbed Swiftpen in a huge hug before he could even react. Eventually he regained his bearings and returned the embrace. Pinkie was smiling ridiculously big.

"Hiii Swifty! Why'd Nym rush out of here?Oh, and also, we can't stay at Sugarcube

Corner tonight. It's a long story! I'll tell you aaaaallll about it later, don't worry!" She never once seemed to change emotion from amazingly happy. It was quite contagious.

"Nym and I were talking about how he has a gigantic crush on Rainbow and I wanted to concoct a plan to get them together! I was just thinking that we could work together, in secret, of course, to set everything in motion." Pinkie seemed a bit surprised but nothing fazed her.

"That makes sense! I don't think that we'd have to do much, though, because I saw Rainbow look all weirdly happy after that race! " Swiftpen nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I saw it too, but Nym's completely blind to it."

"Anyway, I would really like to help get those two together! It'll be fun! I love fun. We should throw a PARTY!" She smiled openly and waited for a response. Swiftpen was thinking.

"Maybe… that's a GREAT idea, Pinkie!" She grinned, somehow even more than before.

"We need to get them together.. they'd both definitely show up to a friend's party.. How would we do this?... I know!" Swiftpen suddenly blushed wildly, even worse when Pinkie asked-

"What is it, Swifty?" He smiled widely but he didn't stop blushing.

"Um… nothing! Forget I ever said anything… never said anything…" Behind his back he used magic to write down his brilliant plan. They spent another half an hour brainstorming, then Pinkie suddenly resigned and looked awfully tired. It wasn't that late, but Swiftpen also looked exhausted.

"I'm sorry Swifty, my Party Exhaustion kicked in earlier and I REALLY need to sleep!' Swiftpen nodded.

"Yeah, mine did too, as usual. We really have to get some rest." The couple walked away to the small bedroom and closed the barely-used door. As they were trotting away Swiftpen secretly magicked a small note addressed to Nym onto the table, knowing that he would see it upon his return.

He later read it and felt somewhat proud and jealous of the brown stallion.

Perhaps it really was time to get his move on.


	5. Chapter 4

Swiftpen awoke to find his lover missing and a note in her place. It was shockingly pink (he wasn't surprised, he stocked a lot of pink paper and ink in the past 5 years). It was generally lovey-dovey and detailed. She had left to help at Sugarcube Corner. She always woke up earlier than him, even if it was only by a couple of minutes. Knowing her, she probably had a way of using perhaps her Pinkie Sense to tell when he would awaken. He stopped himself as he tried to figure out Pinkie Pie. He had to do that a lot. He loved her and all of her illogical surprises.

Nym was still asleep on Swiftpen's neatly prepared couch. The unicorn was glad that he had the courtesy to hide the note- Pinkie seeing it would've been disastrous. He prepared some breakfast for both of them. It was a Thursday- he had nothing to do. Over the past couple of years he really had nothing to do besides hang out with the mares and write. He occasionally explored, but not very often at all. Every once in awhile he would visit Zecora, but he hadn't in a long time.

He decided to just wait until Nym woke up. Perhaps they could do something together.

It was four days later, a Monday. More specifically, the Monday that Nym was scheduled to race in. Swiftpen and the pegasus pony had already arrived to the track around 3 hours early. There was quite a crowd. They figured that more people came after hearing that Swiftpen, the famous author formerly known as CJ, was sponsoring a racer. The race was flight-based. As that was Nym's specialty, they assumed that it wouldn't be too tough to win. The prizes were fairly low, with around 20 bits to the first place winner. There were 25 pegasus ponies in the race.

It was a medium-class race, that was sure. Swiftpen wouldn't have been able to get in if he wasn't as prestigious as he was. In fact, he probably could've gone higher, but he didn't push his luck. This was just fine. Neither Pinkie nor any of the other mares of Ponyville showed up to the race. Swiftpen actually told them not to bother- it wasn't that big of a deal.

However, Rainbow Dash had not heeded his advice. The pegasus mare had nothing better to do, and besides, she wanted to see Nym in action. She still hadn't sorted out her feelings for the stallion, and figured that seeing him race as a spectator would help. Having an equal pegasus stallion was strange to her. All she could comprehend was that she didn't dislike him. Anything else was still very unclear.

Around 3 hours of preparations and set-ups, and the race started. It was a fairly simple, 5-lap race.

Nym had them all beat very easily- it was not a very fair match. The crowd cheered like wild, knowing that he was Swiftpen's racer.

Neither the author nor Nym had any doubt whatsoever. Rainbow Dash, however, was almost in awe. She could have probably done better, but it was still pretty impressive. She was filled with more unsure emotions than ever before. She shrugged off the more powerful feelings the best she could. The pegasus mare was confused even more than ever before.

It was around a week later, 2 more races won. The two stallions were in Swiftpen's house eating dinner and idly chatting. They didn't have much to talk about. Nothing was really new or interesting. The unicorn constantly made references to the weather, keeping Nym's crush on Rainbow Dash clear and obvious. And having a little fun with it, too. Suddenly, Swiftpen looked at his watch and got up.

"Tonight's the night, Nym! I'm hopelessly nervous." He gave an awkward smile as he magicked a small box from a hidden area of his house to him. Nym flashed a knowing and confident smile.

"There's no way in a million years you'll get rejected, you know." Swiftpen went to head to Sugarcube Corner.

"Heh heh… always the optimist, aren't you, Nym. Seeya later." His heart raced with every step he took to Pinkie's place of residence. He had everything perfectly planned, every single tiny detail worked out to absolute completion. Yet he was still almost shaking when he knocked on the door. Pinkie answered quickly. The Cakes didn't even bother anymore, they knew that anyone visiting not during their open hours would be Swiftpen.

"Oh hi Swifty! What's up?" He tried to remove all signs of anxiety from him. It was difficult, but he thought he pulled it off pretty well.

"Hey, uh. There's this place I want to show you. Want to come?" He flashed a suave smile. Or at least he thought he did.

"Of course, Swifty! Let's go!" Pinkie really guessed at his true motives. She figured it took him long enough. Six years was a bit long for all of this when their love was already so evident.

But, she noticed on their arrival, he had definitely not lost his romantic edge. They were at a pavillion in the outskirts of civilization, yet it was still fairly close. There were no trees for miles. The starry sky was beautiful. But neither of them focused on the sight. They were too focused on themselves, sharing an intimate, loving gaze. Finally Swiftpen worked up the nerve to speak as he pulled out the box from his tangled mane.

"Uhm.. Pinkie…... will you marry me?" Pinkie's smile grew wider as her suspicions were confirmed.

"Of COURSE I will, Swifty! I've been waiting so long for this!" The pink mare squeezed her fiancé in a tight embrace. The two betrothed ponies spent the rest of the night together, alone, in ecstasy.

Swiftpen found wedding preparations to be too easy. He could literally tell someone "I'm Swiftpen, can I get such-and-such before this date?" and they would get it to him instantly. Their planned date of 4 weeks later seemed a little ridiculous, actually. He already had invitations out, and Nym had already been chosen for best stallion. The Pies and Escribs were all coming out to partake in the wedding. All of Pinkie's friends were invited, of course. That included pretty much everypony.

Of course, the Nym/Rainbow plan was also ready. Secretly orchestrated between Pinkie, Swiftpen, Applejack, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity, it was sure to work. Or at least they thought so. It was incredibly simple. But, secrecy was a must. Swiftpen had of course written out the plan, much to the other's frustration.

Everything was ready. Nothing could go wrong, right?


	6. Chapter 5

Things Go Wrong

Swiftpen woke up the next morning 2 weeks after his proposal, feeling exhausted. He assumed it was simple Party Exhaustion, he _had _partied a lot in the past week, even including that bachelor "party" that Nym threw for him the other day. But, he felt a huge difference. He could barely move. It was quite draining. He tried to remove his skimpy coverings (it had been incredibly warm the past couple of days) with magic but found himself completely unable to do any magic whatsoever. Then he realized- Magical Party Exhaustion. Urgh. He had experienced it once before around five years ago, and remembered reading about it in a book.

There was a king of a unicorn civilization, mythical or otherwise, no one was sure, who had partied so much, that the civilian unicorns were eventually forced to come to his daily parties to keep him pleased. They became so incredibly exhausted from work and party going, that they became almost ill. Sluggish and lazy, they could barely do anything. Eventually they built up a resistance but that wasn't important- the point was, it was bad.

He forgot the cure completely (he knew there was one, it was classified as an actual disease) but then decided that he didn't need it, anyway. He could just power through it, no problem. It would wear off in a few days, right? He got up from his bed and walked into the kitchen to find Nym sitting impatiently at the table. Suddenly his eyes were blinded by the light of the… afternoon sun?

"You overslept! 6 hours! We have to go to a race in 2 hours!" Oh. Right. That was today. Man, he was scatterbrained today.

"Oh… right. By the way, I kind of have Magical Party Exhaustion today." He told Nym about it in his tales when the pegasus arrived. Swiftpen remembered something.

"Wait, why didn't you go yourself? You don't need me, you can check in yourself if I recall correctly." Nym looked at his unicorn friend quizzically.

"This is a big race, remember? Pinkie's coming. In fact, I think all of the mares are coming besides Twilight. You gotta magic up Pinkie, AJ and Rarity. Did you forget _everything?_" He yawned and covered his mouth.

"Urgh.. apparently. Don't tell any of them about my MPE, okay? I can handle it." Nym rolled his eyes.

"I'll never understand you. Sure, whatever, I might not." Swiftpen raised an eyebrow.

"What was that? 'I mph not'?" Swiftpen glared at him.

"Sorry, I meant 'I won't'." The unicorn sighed.

"Alright, I need to eat something, then let's go." In his groggy state he found it difficult to eat. He slowly ate his brunch and then, with around two hours left, they went to gather up all of the mares. Pinkie first. They arrived to Sugarcube Corner, she was already outside. Swiftpen tried his best to appear as his normal-cheery self. Pinkie appeared to buy it fully, but the second after the unicorn turned his back after magicking wings (and other spells for failsafes) onto Pinkie she whispered quickly to Nym.

"What happened to Swifty?!" Nym suddenly felt conflicted. He _umm_ed a bit quietly until Pinkie forcefully whisper-yelled her question again. He made his decision swiftly.

"I'm sorry, I just can't betray my friend like that, even to his fiancée." Pinkie looked very angry for a second, but quickly understood, knowing very well about keeping promises.

"Fine. I will find out myself." She went off to Swiftpen's side, not giving Nym a chance to speak a single syllable. Both Nym and Pinkie were suddenly very aware of the fact that Swiftpen stumbled every once in awhile. He clearly wasn't very alert at all. Suddenly, Pinkie spoke, right when the unicorn accidentally stumbled when he thought they were looking. He was trying his best.

"Are you alright, Swifty?" She looked deep into Swiftpen's eyes with deep concern in her own. This was going to be tough.

"Perfectly fine, Pinkie.. just fine.." Nym had to admit that he was doing pretty good, despite the fact that Pinkie already knew that there was something wrong. The pink mare was persistent and stubborn.

"Are you suuuure?! If there's ANYTHING wrong just tell me, Swifty!" Swiftpen gained an even more pained expression on his face. He dismissed it best he could to form a fake smile.

"It's… nothing I can't handle, Pinkie. Trust me. If it gets worse I shall tell you immediately." Pinkie Pie didn't trust him one bit.

"Fine.." She softened up exponentially.

"But if it gets even SLIGHTLY worse.. don't be afraid to shout out, okay?!" She almost

seemed on the verge of tears. Swiftpen looked terrible. He cracked.

"Alright, I give! I can't stand to see you in so much pain… I have Magical Party Exhaustion. It's no big deal! I have it under control. Don't worry about it, please!" Pinkie looked satisfied, then she instantly looked worried.

"While that's really impressive and manly, are you _sure _you can handle it?" Swiftpen didn't look as confident as he sounded.

"Of course I can, Pinkie. No reason to miss this big race just because I'm a little tired." She wasn't convinced.

"Well… I'll let it go. For now! Don't you dare stay quiet if it gets worse. I remember last time. You get me?" Swiftpen nodded curtly, and Pinkie looked satisfied. She got closer to Swiftpen to both show affection and support his odd, exhausted trot. She suddenly moved away and whispered quickly yet quietly to Nym. He nodded and suddenly flew off. Swiftpen was completely confused.

Nym pulled the stunt off spectacularly and managed to catch a glimpse of Pinkie giving a small and somewhat pained, yet satisfied smirk.

They arrived swiftly. Nym prided himself on being the second best flyer in Equestria. Swiftpen looked completely befuddled and bewildered.

"Wha… what did you just.. do?!" Zecora, coming out of her hut, had a similar expression.

"I do not know why you are here, please make your reasons clear." She spoke with a small bit of hesitation. She appeared to be in a hurry. Nym knew to be very polite towards the zebra, he did respect her quite a bit.

"Sorry to bother you Zecora, but Swiftpen here has Magical Party Exhaustion, and he's trying to 'be a man' and shrug it off. Pinkie kinda forced me to take him here for a cure." Zecora smirked before she spoke.

"Trying to be tough, I see? Do not worry, I can heal anypony. Let me get you a cure, you will feel rested, I'm sure." She, still seeming to be in a rush, went into her hut. She quickly came back out carrying a small bundle of strange leaves and a mortar and pestle.

"Here you are. Now please excuse me, I have to travel far." She left swiftly, showing that her statement was truthful. Nym looked confused at the leaves and the tools. Swiftpen sighed groggily.

"Just mush them up a lot, and then I eat them. Simple." Nym unsurely grabbed the handle in his mouth and began to painstakingly crush the leaves into a paste. The unicorn somehow clamped his nose shut with his hoof as he downed the sickly green paste. Nym started to question the logic of the situation, then realized that they really had to get to the race.

He waited for Swiftpen to return to full consciousness and flew off. He arrived to see that all of the mares were there- even the alicorn Twilight herself. He then realized that that was the only way it was possible- the only two in their social group who knew the flight spells were Swiftpen and the princess, and the unicorn had only magicked Pinkie before their detour.

The brown stallion shook his head, still somewhat recovering from the swift flight and the affliction he had suffered. The zebra's cure had clearly worked- he was back to his energetic self in around 20 minutes. They were still around an hour early to the race, anyway. Nym started to warm up. He hoped he didn't mess this up…

More awful uncertainty flooded into Rainbow Dash's head as she watched the gray, rough-looking pegasus go to the start line. She had very powerful emotions for him- she just had no idea what they were. Love? No. Couldn't be it. Hate? No, not at all. She didn't hate anypony. These had been the thought processes of the blue pegasus since the second her and Nym's race was over. Maybe she could.. learn a bit more about him? Perhaps.. ask Swiftpen a bit. Maybe it'd clear things up. She'd enjoy it if she finally understood it all. She just had to do _something…_


	7. Chapter 6

Swiftpen and Nym were eating breakfast together when suddenly Swiftpen realized something- his watch was missing. He was quite distressed.

"Wh… where's my watch?!" Nym didn't see why he was so confused.

"Is it really that important?" Swiftpen lowered his eyebrows and looked at him with an "are you serious" face.

"Yes, it is. It really is. I bet it's at Pinkie's. I'm gonna go and get it. Don't fly off or something without leaving a note." He left quickly, almost running out the door. Around 3 minutes later, Pinkie appeared at the door.

"Oh, hey Pinkie."

"Hi Nym! How are you? I took Swifty's watch so I could ask you a few questions in private. Now, did you push my Swifty to 'advancing our relationship'? He didn't do anything until you showed up." Nym was surprised that she noticed.

"Yeah, I did. Thought it was kinda weird that he didn't do anything after six years, sheesh." She smiled, a bit smaller than usual, but largely nonetheless.

"Thanks a TON for that! I was waiting for such a LONG time for him to do SOMETHING! I would've been fine if he asked 4 years ago… Anyway, good luck with Rainbow!" She left, skip-hopping all the way. Swiftpen and Pinkie were quite the couple.

After around an hour, Swiftpen returned. Nym was confused.

"Where did you go?" Swiftpen had his watch, no doubt. But it didn't take an hour to go that far.

"Oh, I took a small detour to thank Zecora for her help the other day." Nym raised an eyebrow.

"A _small _detour? That's in the center of the forest…" The unicorn shrugged.

"No big deal."

Rainbow Dash knocked on the semi-hidden door in the Everfree. She knew she had to have the right place- she even asked Pinkie for specific directions. Only Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack had been there before out of the mares, it was quite odd. She also knew that Nym would not be present, as he was at a small race. Swiftpen stopped going to the smaller races- this was her perfect opportunity. He answered slowly, not knowing who to expect.

"Oh, hi Rainbow. Come on in." After he knew who it was- he knew exactly why she was here. Well, he thought he knew.

"Hey, uh.. I came to ask about Nym. I've been having some.. confusing feelings about him, and I figured that knowing more about him would let me.. sort them out, you know?" He was close enough.

"I noticed, actually. But I'm wondering, what do you mean by confusing?" A… confused face replaced her earlier aloof one.

"That's exactly what I mean. I have no idea! It's the most frustrating thing EVER. I know I have feelings for him, really strong feelings… but what are they?! So just tell me a bit about him, in case I make a move, okay?" Swiftpen easily recognized that she was incredibly stressed over the matter. She had thought a lot about this. He was almost certain that she'd fallen in love with Nym without even realizing it. But there was no reason to get hasty. She could figure out on her own. It was better that way.

"No problem. You see, he's one of my best friends, and my only friend in my younger teenage years. He had 8 years on me then. I have 2 on him, now, so it's kind of odd. He's very self-conscious and has almost no self-esteem, which is odd, because he's the second fastest pegasus pony I've ever met. And I've met all of the Wonderbolts. He's second best only to you, Rainbow, and he barely notices it! But, of course, he had very high hopes for my future, without giving a single care about his own, thinking himself to be worthless. My future has already come true, he has yet to discover his own. He's friendly if you know him, he can appear very harsh to ponies he doesn't know anything about. He holds a very high opinion of me, and sometimes assumes that I'm a lot better than I actually am. Of course, with this, he also holds a very high opinion of everypony I'm friends with. This led to his behavior towards you mares…"

He spent the next 15 minutes talking to Rainbow like this, with her occasionally breaking from her listening trance to ask some questions or comment on something. Finally, after some silence and contemplation, she spoke.

"I'm going to make my move." Swiftpen raised an eyebrow.

"Now?" She started out the door.

"Yeah. Thanks, Swiftpen!" She flew away. He sighed. _Don't mess this up… _He thought, as he considered all of the possible outcomes.

_ Total ruination, or perfect combination._

_ Wow, that sounded awful._

Nym was flying leisurely back to Swiftpen's house, knowing he really had no need to rush. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash appeared in front of him. He almost fell, but instinct kicked in and soon the mare and the stallion were face to face. Nym was startled.

"Uh… hey." Rainbow had an odd expression.

"Hey, Nym. I have a few questions for you. Let's land so we can talk." Nym really had no idea why this was happening- but he didn't really mind it. He wondered if he would have issues speaking. They landed, and Rainbow went on to ask a few questions, as she stated.

"So, what do you think of me?" She was horribly blunt.

Swiftpen was eavesdropping. He cringed at the question. Nym fumbled, as expected.

"Uh.. you're pretty great.." The pegasus mare only looked worse.

"No… like.. do you think of me in a positive way? Like, do you _like_ me?" Nym fumbled even more. Swiftpen pitied them both and considered yelling "get a room", sensing the chemistry between them. He reconsidered.

"... Yeah.. I do.. Like I said, you're, uh, pretty great.." Rainbow Dash snapped.

"UGH! This isn't helping at ALL!" She flew off, taking off faster than ever before. She was barely flying straight, she was noticeably distressed. Swiftpen went out of hiding to help Nym.

"To be completely honest, that was sad." Okay, maybe less "help" and more "criticise".

"It was the perfect opportunity! You could've ended all of this hiding nonsense right then and there!" Nym was shaking.

"I'm sorry, okay?! I was so nervous.. I have no idea what I said. Did I say anything stupid? She probably hates me now. Yep, definitely." He was losing it.

"WOAH. Woah. Relax there. Don't make any rash decisions. I still have a pretty good hunch that she likes you quite a bit. Just wait a while. Maybe.. until after the wedding, okay?" Nym sighed, but he looked significantly less wild. Swiftpen smiled reassuringly and confidently.

Inbetween that time and the wedding, Nym became much more of a known competitor in races. Most ponies started to forget about his sponsor- practically any group or company wouldn't think twice to sponsor him. He became popular- sometimes he even raced members of the Wonderbolts for publicity. He won always, surprisingly enough. Him and Rainbow Dash competed in 3 more 1 vs 1 races, with them tying or the mare winning. She was satisfied in knowing that she was better, even if it was only slightly.

Naturally, Rainbow Dash kept up with Nym's accomplishments. The races were getting more and more impressive, some even worldwide competitions. She was sad that she didn't have any opportunities to compete- but then she remembered that she really didn't care, she enjoyed life in Ponyville. Her feelings for the pegasus stallion were still completely unsorted- Rainbow was still as confused as ever. Their encounter made it worse, even.

Everything needed to be worked out. Perhaps that's what the wedding was for. A change of pace to set the tone.


	8. Chapter 7

The 6 ponies- Swiftpen, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy- all gathered in the foyer of the newly constructed building 2 days before the wedding. They were having a meeting to discuss their plan to unite Rainbow Dash and Nym. Swiftpen spoke first.

"We need to change the plan, even slightly. There must be no margin for error!" Pinkie Pie seconded the motion. She doubted that her Swifty could think wrong. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"How could we change it? I think it's foolproof, myself." Swiftpen looked thoughtful for a second, then brightened up.

"A locking mechanism!" He started to write something down. They all jumped up besides Pinkie, and Applejack spoke out.

"Don't write that down, dummy! Then they could see it easily!" Swiftpen looked disappointed, and magicked his supplies down. It was going to be a long night.

The building was large and simple. Swiftpen had had it specifically constructed for this very day, the date of his and Pinkie's wedding. He also added a few things that would aid them in their plan, but wouldn't harm the building after it was put to other uses.

It first had a very small foyer that almost cloaked the humongous size of the building. There was a single door, and there were no specific features to note. It was almost a hallway. Then, a double door led into the full expanse of it. It was breathtakingly large, perhaps even bigger than the ballrooms of Canterlot. But currently, for that very day, it seemed smaller because of small fake walls put in for the actual wedding. They would be removed later to awe the guests for the reception.

Everything was set up, and the wedding began after all the guests arrived. There were an incredible amount of guests, normal considering the fact that Pinkie made friends with almost everypony, and her and Swiftpen had made many friends within the past 6 years.

The actual procession of the wedding was very short, perhaps 10 minutes long. Everypony looked happy and expectant, there was bound to be a magnificent reception knowing the favorite pastimes of the wedded ponies.

After the short ceremony, the false walls were moved away with magic to reveal the true inside of the building, already set up for the party. Naturally, the party was the best of the best. Vinyl Scratch was presenting the music, and she was presenting her best. The food was from all throughout Equestria and the surrounding lands. There was so much food, even with the sheer amount of ponies (and other various animals) they all assumed they couldn't eat it all.

The wedding was really more symbolic than anything- their love was obvious and there really was nothing that could change that. It just fortified it a little, was all.

But the party was nothing short of the best. The setting was perfect, the energy was high. There wasn't a pony there that would deny dancing. They didn't even care if the music was good or bad- it was enough to enjoy themselves to, and that's what they did.

Eventually a few slow songs came on, and the lovers paired up and danced beautiful, elegant, and emotional dances before returning to the natural funky beat of the quicker music. Everypony enjoyed it to some extent, some even forgetting about the occasion and simply losing themselves in the ecstasy shared by the collective group of ponies. Surely it was a night that nopony would forget.

But at around five o'clock after midnight, there were no ponies left besides the most familiar ones, Swiftpen, Nym, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Rainbow Dash had insisted on leaving 3 hours earlier but Pinkie convinced her to stay a little longer for the plan to commence. Everything was in motion. Suddenly Nym expressed his want to leave to Swiftpen. The unicorn expected this and told him to hang on, and went over to give Pinkie the signal. She saw and signalled back. It was time. He told Nym that he was free to go, the same time Pinkie told Rainbow the same thing. Rarity had recently "left" when in actuality she had locked the door and escaped through a hidden side passage.

The pegasus ponies rushed into the foyer and realized that the door to exit was locked, which was odd. They both attempted to go back into the larger room, only to hear a locking noise. They were trapped. It was obviously planned out- (Nym doubted it was, he thought it was just a mistake). Rainbow instantly confronted Nym.

"Did you do this?!" He was suddenly terrified.

"No! No, I swear I didn't!" She recovered her senses and stopped panicking. There was an air of immense awkwardness. The mare spoke after a while.

"Uh.. sorry about that. Anyway, got any ideas on how to get out of here?" Nym shook his head.

"No.. I don-" A paper was slipped by means of Swiftpen's magic. It simply stated on the front- I DO, and on the back- MAKE OUT. Nym was taken aback, and swiftly crumpled the paper. Rainbow was curious on what the paper was, and grabbed it before Nym could do anything. She opened it up sloppily with her mouth, seeing the neatly written, yet crude message.

"Did.. Swiftpen write this?" Nym sighed and nodded. He wanted to move on from that as quickly as possible.

"So, uh, getting out of here. Think we could like… I dunno.." He rambled for a bit, but Rainbow seemed undeterred.

"Nym.. do you like me?" She looked straight into his eyes. Nym fumbled and sweated bullets. He wasn't prepared at all for this question. She repeated it, with more force, and got closer. He had nothing to do, he was quite literally in a corner. He answered with a passion he didn't know he had.

"I… I do. I really do!" He felt immense confidence in stating the truth after all that time of hiding. Rainbow Dash stood, puzzled, when suddenly, her face lit up. She looked like she had an epiphany.

"I… I do too!" Nym beamed. It wasn't at all what he expected. They looked at each other for an awkward moment before Rainbow quickly moved in and stole a long, intimate kiss from Nym. Swiftpen started giggling but silenced himself and opened the doors.

The two pegasus ponies moved away from each other, blushing and grinning like idiots.

"So… it's been a crazy month, hasn't it?" Nym asked exuberantly.

"Yeah. I loved it. Let's get out of here." Right after Rainbow answered, they both shot out of the small foyer area, as fast as they possibly could. The couple was inseparable the rest of the night with their newfound love.

The other ponies looked on with pride in knowing that they had united the two.


	9. Chapter 8Epilogue

Around a month after the wedding, Swiftpen had completely renovated and upgraded his house. It was much larger, and could better accommodate both him and Pinkie, as they were living together now. Nym had decided to move into the clouds, near but not always with Rainbow. They were taking a lot less time in getting familiar with each other, skipping all of the useless waiting nonsense.

Nym had definitely earned fame- he was a well-known face among racing fans, and had many obsessive fans as CJ/Swiftpen once did.

Both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash continued to do their normal jobs in Ponyville, feeling no need to quit or find a better job, as they were perfectly content doing what they had for most of their lives. Swiftpen wrote a couple of books including an autobiography, which sold hundreds across the world, but otherwise remained fairly tame and relaxed besides the rampant partying crave that he and Pinkie shared. (Swiftpen was still Princess Twilight's assistant and never once failed to perfectly organize everything in under 6 hours, and broke a few world records in the process.)

Together, Pinkie and Swiftpen had written many songs that they sung together at parties and other events. They were very well-known as being musically talented. Swiftpen even showed some strange hidden knowledge of being able to play the trombone very well.

Nym and Rainbow Dash raced often, and many ponies would often pay well to see the two in action. They had earned the title of being the #2 and #1 flyers in Equestria, respectively. Rainbow was almost always slightly better.

The two couples were walking and relaxing in a calm forest one chilly autumn day…

"So, Swiftpen, why do you have so many issues with buying windows?" Rainbow Dash was curious.

"Have you ever broken every window in a house at once? Because Pinkie and I did, and, heh, it's kind of a funny story if I can recall.." Suddenly Swiftpen blushed up, as he remembered what happened that day. Pinkie was smiling like wild and blushing a bit. The unicorn locked up.

"Uhm.. yeah.. it was.. interesting." He started to grin like an idiot. Nym had a question to ask, as well, and felt like changing the focus for his best friend's sake.

"So, did you two ever think about doing some collaboration with Vinyl Scratch on your music? I've heard she's very musically talented." Pinkie paused her dream-like memory playback to respond swiftly.

"We tried a while ago, she's really talented, but she really prefers working alone. Besides, Swifty and I work together fine, right?" She looked with her Pinkie-smile at her husband. He eagerly smiled back with his own unique style.

"Hehe.. yeah. We work together flawlessly." They both drifted back into love-daydream mode. Nym figured it was useless to try and get them out of it, so he returned his attention to his lovely significant other.

.

END

Epilogue

After Swiftpen's home's renovation and Nym and Rainbow Dash being official lovers, many things happened. After 2 years, Nym and Rainbow married. They were much more blunt than Swiftpen and Pinkie.

Swiftpen and Pinkie, however, after all of that, went on to have a total of 5 foals of their own. Genetics worked out almost evenly, and 3 were earth ponies, as 2 were unicorns. The unicorns were twins, both male. There was another colt, the eldest by a year, and the other two were little fillies.

Eventually Pinkie and her husband were given Sugarcube Corner, as the elder Cakes were retiring and moving away from Ponyville, as the younger ones had other plans in mind and were well old enough to live in their own homes. They swiftly moved in to the store, and repurposed their old house in the Everfree.

Nym and Rainbow Dash went on to have a single foal, a filly, and own a very large house in the sky. It was as luxurious as cloud houses could be.

They very often had friendly races and competition, as they were both highly competitive ponies and loved what they did. Their chemistry was unmatchable, they loved nothing other than being able to race in the wide open sky together.

They were both offered spots as Wonderbolts- but both declined, knowing that that would most likely not give them much time to be with their friends and enjoy their life. Rainbow Dash had gotten over her dreams of being one someday, it just wasn't that big of a deal. She was satisfied with her life already.


End file.
